XRP Loses 5%, Crushing Hopes of a Speedy Rebound to $3 After Ripple Network Suffers 64-Minute Outage

XRP's woes continued for the second day running, as its price tumbled by more than 5% to settle around $2.5 (at press time).

XRP price dropped sharply on February 4, losing more than 5% in the 24 hours. This setback occurred as several XRP transactions were delayed due to a 64-minute network outage on February 4.

The outage affected the production of blocks on the XRP ledger, causing a halt in transactions. This incident sparked concerns among investors and traders, highlighting the vulnerability of the network.

Despite hopes of a speedy rebound towards the $3 mark, XRP’s price faced difficulties in recovering. The digital asset dropped to around $2.5 at the time of press, displaying a significant decrease from its recent highs.

Moreover, XRP’s daily trade volume also took a hit, shedding up to 50% of its steam. This downturn in trading activity occurred as traders reacted to the network outage and the bearish market conditions.

Two key factors might explain the bearish stance towards XRP. Firstly, yesterday’s network drift caused a temporary halt in block production on the Ripple ledger. This outage lasted for 64 minutes on February 4, affecting over 80,000 XRP transactions.

This isn’t the first time the Ripple network has experienced serious issues, as it suffered similar outages in September and November 2024. The incidences had investors spooked and questioning Ripple Ledger’s reliability. Among the individuals who voiced reliability concerns while questioning Ripple’s transparency was Riot Platforms Vice President Pierre Richard, who asked when Ripple would publicize a post-mortem analysis of the incident.

Secondly, the market hasn’t fully recovered from the shock of the Trump tariff. Top altcoins, including Solana and Chainlink, are equally down by a similar margin. Their daily trading volumes have also taken a hit, which may be explained by the cautious ‘wait-and-watch’ mood gripping the crypto market.